Remotely controlled terminals are widely used in networks of automatic teller machines, point of sale systems, computerized gasoline pumps and other networked applications. A unique method for providing personal financial services using remotely controlled terminals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,571 to D'Agostino issued Jul. 27, 1993, entitled Personal Financial Assistant Computer Method, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
In D'Agostino, a network of host terminals, referred to as "representative terminals", and remotely controlled terminals, referred to as "customer terminals", are used to provide personal financial services. A telephone request is accepted at a representative terminal from a customer at a customer terminal. The representative terminal is linked to the customer terminal for data communication therebetween. The representative terminal then seizes control of the customer terminal so that the representative terminal remotely controls operation of the customer terminal. Personal financial services are then provided to a customer at the customer terminal under control of the representative terminal using personal financial services information which is stored at the customer terminal.
Remotely controlled terminals are typically unattended. That is, a human operator is typically not present to supervise operation of the remote terminal. The user (customer) is typically incapable of supervising operation of the remote terminal because the user is not familiar with the internal operations thereof. Accordingly, there is a need for a supervisory controller and method for a remotely controlled terminal.
A supervisory controller is often needed for remote control of power to the terminal. In particular, it is often necessary to switch power to and from the components of the remote terminal. Power may be applied when the terminal is brought online, and may be removed when the terminal is brought offline. Moreover, often a malfunction in a computer, printer or other component of a terminal may be corrected by removing and reapplying power to the malfunctioning device. This operation is often referred to as "rebooting" the device. The art has developed systems for remotely controlling power in a terminal but these systems tend to be complex and cumbersome. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,326 to Badagnani et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,444 to Ferlan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,035 to Greene; U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,349 to Chase et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,566 to Whittaker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,946 to Oliva et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,269 to Summerlin; U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,720 to Kittirutsunetorn; U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,806 to Lord; U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,167 to Yoshida et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,797 to Barlow et al.
A supervisory controller and method are also often needed to dial telephone numbers. For example, the above cited D'Agostino patent includes a multiple number autodialer telephone which can be used to dial appropriate numbers for various financial services. Such a multiple number autodialer telephone uses a separate telephone line for a voice (audio) connection. The voice telephone line is used in addition to the digital data line which is used to transmit digital data and/or video between the host and remote computers. This duplication may require leasing of two separate telephone lines for each terminal. It is known to multiplex audio, video and digital data on a single line. However, such multiplexing can be complex and cumbersome. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,073 to Hammond; U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,271 to Kondo et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,040 to Futato; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,905 to Tweedy et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,158 to Guichard et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,831 to Grace; U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,211 to Charbonnel et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,866 to Paolini.